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On Sunday, December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m., many people of Oahu were suddenly awakened by the sounds of Japanese planes flying overhead and huge explosions. What were the Japanese planes doing, you ask? They were bombing Pearl Harbor. Later that morning, at 8:45 a.m., the second round of attacks began. Nobody expected the first attack but when the second attack came the Americans had their gun crews at their posts and had loaded up their ammunition. They had all their planes lined up and ready to go. While every major nation was in the midst of World War II, America remained neutral. Many Americans voted for President Franklin Roosevelt for a third time because he promised to keep America out of war. When Japan started taking over Asia, many Americans knew it would not last, we were at war.  This map of Pearl Harbor shows the positioning of the battleships. Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? Japan and Americans relationship was strained. In 1940, Japanese diplomatic code was broken, and America learned what the Japanese plans were. They were preparing for war against the United States. A year later, Japan and Americans relations were in more trouble. America suspected that Japan was about to make a major military move. Japan had already conquered part of China. On December 6, the United States president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, received an intercepted message ordering the Japanese Embassy to burn code books and that this meant war. But President Roosevelt ignored the warning. On December 7, 1941, at 6:30 a.m., the USS Ward sunk a Japanese submarine. At 7:00 a.m., a radar station on the northern tip of Oahu, picked up a large blip on its screen. It was a large group of planes coming in from the north. The signal was ignored because they thought they were expecting American B-17 bombers to arrive from California. No one believed Japan could attack Hawaii by air. But they were wrong. Without declaring war
first, Japanese commander Mitsuo Fuchida, led the
first attack on Pearl Harbor at 7:55 a.m. on
December 7, 1941. The American military on Oahu was
surprised. The Japanese planned the attacks well.
They knew American ships were in port on Sundays
and knew where each ship was berthed. They had maps
and models of Pearl Harbor so their pilots would be
prepared. 189 fighters and bombers took off from
the decks of their aircraft carriers, then
separated into two groups. One group bombed the air
bases of Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, and Ford
Island. The other attacked the American fleet.
A second wave of
Japanese planes attacked the islands. Within four
hours, 2,330 Americans were dead and 1,347 were
wounded. Bodies were floating in the harbor and
some in the sand. Eight battleships were sunk or
badly damaged and ten other vessels were sunk. One
of the battleships that was sunk was the USS
Arizona. Half of its crew was entombed. But three
aircraft carriers were still at sea and were not
hit. The naval shipyard and repair facilities were barely hit so the workers were able to install guns and repair the ships right away. They were refloated, drained, and repaired very fast. The damaged ships returned to duty. Later, they helped in Americans victory in 1945. Within a week of the attack, the United States was officially at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy. Hawaii was placed under martial law, meaning the military was in charge of everything. Oahu looked like an armed camp with its machine guns, barbed wires, sandbags, blackouts, and trenches. Adults and children had to carry gas masks and schools had bomb drills. There was also a strict curfew that did not allow civilians to stay out after dark. The people of Hawaii believed that another invasion by the Japanese was going to happen, so everyone was issued an ID. In case of an attack, their bodies could be identified by their identifications. The bombings of Pearl Harbor changed the lives of many Americans and especially Japanese Americans. A lot of Americans were suspicious of any Japanese because they didn't know if he was a spy or not. No espionage could be traced to local Japanese, but 18 Caucasians were later charged with spying for Japan. Even though the Japanese Americans were an indispensable work force for the military, they were still hated. They were called "Japs" Many were fired from their jobs and attacked in the streets. The War Department closed Japanese schools, Shinto shrines, and Buddhist temples. Japanese language books and Girls Day dolls were burned by the Japanese to disconnect themselves from their culture. They tried to become more American to be accepted and not hated. Years later, they were accepted. Sunday Morning Attack: Attack At Pearl Harbor,
1941; Battleship Row Picture-http://www.paultravers.com/pearl_harbor/links.html
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